The smell of cinnamon, red wine, and slow-cooked beef drifted through my house. Stifado. A Greek classic—and the only thing strong enough to mask the tension of the last few months. Diana sat at the kitchen island, a glass of wine in hand, while Donna leaned over the countertop watching the steam rise from the pot.
"You made this?" Donna asked, blinking. "You cook?" I smirked as I stirred. "Surprised?"
Diana smiled warmly. "You'd be shocked how talented he is. Cain has a future in the kitchen of any five-star restaurant." "Please," I said, chuckling. "I'm just following a recipe."
"And yet," Diana added, "you always make Greek dishes when I visit." I looked over my shoulder, grin still tugging at the edge of my mouth. "You've got a bias. And a really nostalgic palate."
Since the all-hands meeting at the Hall of Justice two months ago, Diana and I had quietly started a tradition. Every Sunday, she came over for dinner. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we sat in silence. Sometimes she just needed a place that didn't have League tech embedded in the walls.
This Sunday, she brought Donna. While the stew simmered, Diana's voice softened. "Cain… I'd like you to consider something." I looked up.
"I want you to meet with Dinah and J'onn," she said. "They've tried calling, but you've been ignoring them." I tensed, my hand still stirring. She continued.
"They don't want to ambush you. They refused to come unannounced. They just want a chance to talk. To apologize." I let the silence stretch as I watched the broth bubble. "Fine," I said at last. "Next Sunday. I'll hear them out. I promise."
Diana smiled, rose from her seat, and kissed my cheek. "That's all I ask, little one." I snorted. "I'm six-three. Nineteen. I'm not little."
"To me," she said, settling back into her seat with a ladle of stew, "you always will be." After dinner, they left, and I cleaned up alone, letting my thoughts wander It had been a strange few months.
Turns out the events of Under the Red Hood kicked off not long after I started training with the Titans. Jason Todd was on the run.
From Batman's field reports and what Dick told me, this version of Jason was leaning more toward his New 52 personality—anger-driven, cynical, and bruised by betrayal. But not a killer well not psychopathic at least (Less of a monster). He has a good heart buried under a lot of pain.
That I could work with. I'd have to make contact at some point. Maybe I could do it if I find Kori. She and Jason and we recreate the "Outlaws. But Roy Harper was gone since the tower incident But Artemis wasn't on the Titans maybe there something there.
Another fragment of what might've been, missing from the puzzle but before I could sink further into that thought, my phone buzzed it was Samantha.
Finals are next week want to study together? Since were taking classes the other already passed it should be easier to study. I smirked and typed back my place or the Tower? Yours fewer distractions and I'd like to see it.
Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang I opened the door to see her standing there in a soft pink-and-lavender sundress comfortable and casual, but still stunning. A hint of cleavage peeked through, I couldn't tell if it was intentional. The sunset behind her lit her red hair in an orange halo.
"Wow," I said she smiled, brushing a lock behind her ear. "Hey." We exchanged greetings, and I gave her a quick tour. She complimented everything—the open layout, the modern edges, the reinforced windows.
"This place is beautiful," she said. "I didn't expect it to feel so personal." I laughed. "I've upgraded it over the years. Reinforced the frame, made it quake-resistant. Durable, but still home."
She looked at me with curiosity. "Planning on staying long-term?" "Actually," I said, "I've been thinking of building something new for myself. A place for when my parents come back."
She paused, then touched my arm. "I can help." "You don't need to—" "Don't worry about materials," she said. "Tell me how you want it. I'll help make it happen literally I can make them."
That caught me off guard. "…Thanks."
She smiled. "Of course."
We headed to the kitchen island, pulling out textbooks and notes. She tied her hair back into a loose ponytail, and we got to work—talking, sharing, studying and two hours passed quickly.
Samantha was sharp, focused, and probably the only study partner I'd ever had that made hours feel like minutes. The sun had long since dipped beneath the horizon, leaving the house illuminated by soft, warm lighting and the occasional screen glow.
"We've made a lot of progress," I said, closing my last notebook. "We can pick this up at school if you want." she stretched and nodded. "That'd be nice." She yawned slightly. "I should get back to the Tower."
I leaned back on the counter. "You're welcome to stay here. Plenty of room—if you're comfortable with that, I mean." She hesitated for only a second before smiling. "You know what? I'll take you up on that. I'm exhausted." With a wave of her hand, a soft pink glow shimmered around her. Her sundress dissolved into a t-shirt and shorts in an instant.
I blinked. "I forgot how cool your powers are." She shrugged. "Convenience at its finest."
"Hungry?" I asked, heading to the kitchen. "Yeah, actually." I reheated the leftovers from earlier—stifado, still packed with flavor—and plated some for her. She took a bite and closed her eyes.
"Call me Eve," she said after a moment. "Samantha feels too formal. We're teammates now, and you just fed me real food."
"Alright, Eve." She smiled again. "Didn't know you could cook. Got any other secrets?" I laughed. "You already know more about me than anyone else. Including seeing me naked." She choked slightly on her bite and turned red. "Let's not bring that up again."
I waved it off. "It's fine." Setting her fork down, eyeing me curiously. "Wait… no one's seen you like that before? Never had a girlfriend? Never been intimate?"
"Not too invasive," I said, answering the look. "And no. No girlfriend. No hookups. No real interest growing up. The League. The alien stuff. It never gave me space for that kind of life. Plus… most of the girls I knew never had the same energy as my mom."
Eve raised a brow, smiling. "You're a mama's boy?" I grinned. "Raised by an Amazon and a Viltrumite world conquer. Plus Wonder Woman helped look after me so I matured a little differently. I like strong, grounded women not little girls still figuring themselves out."
I didn't add the part about my reincarnated soul.
Eve nodded slowly. "Makes sense. Honestly… I respect that. I prefer to wait too, I bet your Viltrumite genes don't make that easy." "Nope its like puberty times 100."
That made both of us chuckle. She leaned back. "So after your Viltrumite powers awakened how's it been? Especially with Kara?" I sighed. "You know about that?"
She looked guilty. "Yeah. Kara asked if I could help suppress her pheromone reaction. But I didn't want to mess with her biology without studying it more. I didn't feel right using my powers like that, even with good intentions."
I nodded. "Smart. I appreciate it. If there's anything I can do to help you figure it out…" I took a small step closer. "I'll donate samples or whatever. We're both affected, after all."
Eve looked up at me. Her expression shifted, her posture stiffening for a second. "What am I doing…" she whispered to herself.
"What?" I asked. "Nothing," she said quickly, clearly trying not to look flustered. I smirked. "Since we're on the subject—how do I smell?"
She rolled her eyes, walked forward, and placed her face gently near my neck. I could feel her breath. Warm. Just enough to trigger something in my core.
She pulled back, cheeks red. "You smell good," she said. "But not like… jump-your-bones good." We both laughed, the tension finally cracking.
She looked down for a second and blushed and then looked back up grabbing her bag and pointed to the hallway. "Spare bedroom's across from yours, right?"
"Yeah."
"Goodnight, Cain."
"Night, Eve."
She vanished into the room, the door hissing shut behind her.
I sighed.
Then looked down. "Really?" I muttered, adjusting the waistband of my pants. "Damn Viltrumite genes." Across the hall, Eve lay back on the guest bed, giggling quietly. "He's too cute," she whispered to herself. "But I can't get caught in this. Not with Kara already tangled in it."
She rolled over, still smiling.